Fruit-vending machine



Oct. 1,1929. N. H. MAsslE 1,729,886'

FRUIT VENDING MACHINE Filed Aug. 6. 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet.' l

\\\\ \Wmm Oct'. l, 1929.

N. H. MASSIE FRUIT VENDING MACHINE Filed Aug. e. 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 21f 12 M #Gf/4%? j@ z /19 y l j a ll f l I 2 l 7 lll ATTORNEY Oct. 1,1929.

N. H. MASSIE FRUIT VENDING MACHINE Fileg Aug. 6. 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 5INVENTOR ATTORNEY i :aticularly with ,-.arefdesigned and adapted (forvending 'subthat fthe latter vwill,

Patented Oct. 1, 1929 ".Ufnrrrgn fsrrAT/Es 'PATENT AoFF-rcsfNoaHlH-.fmessxE-Qr XAKIMA, WASHINGTOEASSIGNOE ro .QF .sum1-E,WASHINGTQN, A GORP PEUrr-vENnING MAeHrNE .alpplieationnledugust 6,1928.Serial No. 297,741.

This .invention l-relates to improvements l1n .vending -machlnes `and:has vto do more par- -this class otmachines which stantially ,spherical`bodies; such 3or instance ras apples, oranges Vand the like.

It is a IAeatu-reof the invention to yhouse .a Yplurality of vert-icalrows orcolumns ot -fruit v.entities in superimposed v,relation forgravity vdeliveryot the entities at or near the lower Aends of thecolumns.

It is a further feature ofthe invention to provide-novel delivery rmeans :at the base of the columns `:tor controlling delivery-ot Jfruitentitiesinfserialorder fromthe columns so -while charged, alwaysdisclose practically uni-form columns of Afruit.

It zis lafeaturepffthe delivery means` -to function ,not `only in.eiiectingdelivery of the .fruit entities, ybut al So,*to support theentities that are notibeing delivered.

It" is ya further teature to l utilize .an entity that is ready `fordelivery, for the purpose of supportingtheremainder ofthe column freefrom engagement with-.the delivery means until -thezlatter has beenadvanced toward a delivery i position.

It is a :still urther `feature of-the invenytion to -provide a .novelform of delivery means which is adapted-,torche advanced step by step inVthe vperformance of its delivery housings are of such size,

,sitymt providing special APPLE VENDEE COMPANY, mlrrroiv` orwssnrrrsfroiv Fig. 5, is ia view in end elevation o the deliverycylinder looking Fig. 41 yand taken on line lfrom the right of 5-5thereof.

Fig. 6, is a similar view with the parts in a slightly different Fig. 7,is a view similar to broken away.

position.

Fig. 5, with parts Fig. 8, is aview similar to Fig. A6.

Fig. 9, 51s an enlarged detail view.

Like characters of referencesdesignate similar parts throughout thedilierent figures of the drawings.

As illustrated, the machine'includes a base 41 on which a casingstructure is mounted and ,said structure includes a .walls gand 4, and atopwall 5. A horizontal lwallfwhich will'be termed a delivery wall, is

back wall 2, side indicated at 6, and-the usual glass front 7suitablymounted, will be provided in order to ,render theY `fruitvisible .Each housing, as shown, cylindrical back suitably mountedtherein. tain` theentities `within the portion 8, throughout :the heightof to the purchaser.

Thus, 'it will be clear that 'the chamber formed above .wall 6, will`chamber yforithe -truitto be vended. Astorage vchamber there is Vp ityoit housings yorholding vertical columns of: 'fruit entities insuperimposed relation.v

be the storage In this rovided a pluralincludes a semiextending thechamber 'and In order to rehousings, each of vthe-latter includes rods9, extending throughout, the lengthet the housings, as shown,

thereby clearly exposing buyer. jecting flange toaccurately g thedelivery openings the fruit to the :Near the wall 6, an upwardly pro-10, is providedtor each housing guide the fruit entitiesthrough l1, inwall 6, one opening being provided for each housing.` These in crosssection, as

.to accommodate the maximum size fruit to 4loefvended and 4inclose such,ficienu clearance of the fruit through Thisgravity descent of porta-ntbecause, with the subsequently described, it-

-With .gthe

fmarsihat .Will-be Subqu fruit with sufto permit of gravity descent saidvopenings 11.

the fruit is immechanism to be avoids the necesmeans for coacting ,fruitin addition to the delivery ently described.

. cent relation to all of As usual, the housings will be charged fromthe top, the upper wall 5 being removable for thatpurpose, and it willbe seen from Fig. 2, that the housings are in a row and that theopenings 11, are in linear relation. In other words, a center line willintersect all the centers of all the openings 11.

Next referring to that portion of chamber of the casing below walls 6,which will be termed the delivery chamber, it will be seen that thefront wall 12, extends in advance of the glass front 7. In this wall 12,is an opening 13, for delivery passage of a fruit entity therethrough.Leading toward this opening 13, is a delivery tray having a bottom wall14, side walls and 16 and a back wall 17. These walls of the tray slopetoward the bottom wall 14, and have sufficient length to receive a fruitentity from any of the housings, four in number, as will be clearly seenby reference to Figs. 1, 2 or 3. Itis advantageous to extend the bottomwall 14, as shown at 18, and provide the same with an upwardly extendingflange 19 so that when an entity is delivered, the flange will hold thesame against rolling olf from the outer end portion of wall 18.

Reference will next be made to the improved means for receiving anddelivering fruit entities from the housings to the tray.

Said means, in the present form of the invention, is embodied in ahollow cylinder 20. This cylinder is rotatively mounted, as will bespecifically described later on, in subjathe housings so as to receivefruit entities therefrom. As will be seen from Figs. 3 and 4, the upperperipheral portion of the cylinder 20, is disposed sufficiently belowwall 6 to permit the lowermost entity of the column to project below thehousing, or in other words, below wall 6, and, as shown in Fig. 4, comein contactwith the cylinder.

Thus it will be seen that before the lowermost entities are dischargedfrom their housings, they are supported by the cylinder. The cylinder'20, is shown provided with four entity receivers or openings designatedat 21, this number being equal to the number of housings. These openings21, as will beseen ,from Fig. l, are located to come into alinement withtheir respective housings but are sequentially and spirally disposedabout and longitudinally of the periphery of the cylinder 20 in such amanner that these openings will consecutively come into registry withtheir respective housings. In the most preferred form, as shown, theseopenings are cqui-distantly spaced circumferentially of the cylinder sothat when the `cylinder is given a quarter turn, one opening 21 willmove into registry with one housing while another that has previouslyreceived an entity, will be advanced to a position to deliver suchentity. The receiving position is shown lation to the in Fig. 3, and thedelivery position is shown in Fig. 4. However, as a matter of fact,there is always at least one opening in a receiving position and alwaysone opening in a delivery position. The action of the cylinder 2O willbe more particularly described in the explanation of the operation ofthe machine.

Means is provided for preventing the fruit entities from either wedgingor being bruised by engagement with the marginal edges of theopenings21, and such means will next be described in detail.

Opposite each opening 21, is a skeleton holder which may consist ofradially disposed arms 22, properly dished, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3,to receive and support the substantially spherical fruit entities sothat the peripheries of the latter will not be forced against themargins of the openings 2l.

These fruit holders and supporters 22, are

shown mounted on lugs 23, suitably secured 'to the wall of the cylinder20. I may employ a screw 25 for anchoring the receivers 22 to said lugsand the latter may be provided with supporting extensions 26,`projecting along the under sides of the arms to not only support thelatter but also to reinforce the same.

These lugs are of such height that they support the holders 22 in amanner to maintain the fruit entities slightly out of Contact, at leastout of injurious Contact, with the margins of openings 21, and also inprojecting reperiphery of the cylinder 20.

Reference will next be made to the manner and means of mounting thecylinder 20, and to the means of operating the same.

At the left hand end, viewing Fig. 1, the cylinder 20 is or may be`provided with a trunnion 27 journalled ina bearing 28. At the right handend, the cylinder 20 is provided with a shaft 29 that may be slippedinto a U-shaped bearing 30. Therefore it will thus be seen that,essentially, the cylinder 2O is rotatively mounted in subjacent relationto the housings. At its right hand end, viewing Fig. 1, the cylinder 2Onotched disc 31 and seen in Fig. 5, with four locking notches 32, whichare lined up with the openings 21, or rather with the points at whichthe cylinder is to be arrested. Intermediate said locking notches, areratchet notches 33, four in number. A locking pawl 34 is shown pivotallymounted at 35 to the back wall 2. The locking end 36 is adapted toengage notches 32, and lock the cylinder in the positions which it isdesired to hold the same. Said pawl 24 has a releasing lug 37, thepurpose of which will presently appear. A ratchetpawl `38 is pivoted at39, and has gravity engagement with disc 31 and engages notches 33 toprevent lost motion movement of the cylinder 20 'ina is provided with aclockwise direction, viewing F ig. 5.

A ratchet disc 40, having ratchet notches the same is provided as llO41, four in number', is fixed to either the cylinder 2O or the shaft 29to be rotated therewith. A gear disc 42, having a mutilated bevel gearsection 43, thereon, is freely rotatable on shaft 29 and is disposedbetween disc 40 and a sleeve teeth 41 and is actuated by a suitablespring 46. Said disc 42 is provided with a pawl actuating arm 47,adapted to engage lug 37 to throw pawl 34 out of engagement with any oneof the notches 32. A bevel gear 48 meshes with gear section 43 shaft 49that is suitably journalled in wall 12 and in a bearing 50, on sleeve44. A suitable manual grip 51 is mounted on shaft 49 whereby the lattermay be manually turned, by the purchaser. The turning movement of shaft49, is subject to the insertion. of a coin or token but as the coincontrolled feature cannot be claimed in a case defining the vendingfeature, the coin controlled feature is not illustrated in detail.

The operation of the machine will next be described in detail.

1t is desired to point out again, that at least one opening 21, willalways be in a fruit receiving position, as shown in Fig. 3, while allthe others will be in varying degrees, out of a receiving position..Thus, that column of fruit above the opening that is in a receivingposition, will rest upon the fruit entity that has been received in theopening, as shown in Fig. 3. The lowermost entities of all the othercolumns of fruit, will rest upon the imperforate peripheral portion ofthe cylinder 20. It will now be clear, viewing Fig. 3, that thesuperimposed fruit entities cannot force the apple that has beenreceived in the cylinder, into injurious contact with the margins of theopening because the holder 23 supports the apple out of contact withsaid margins.

Now assuming that a purchaser desired to operate the machine afterdepositing the required token or coin, he would first manually operatethe grip 51 to the right or in a clockwise direction viewing Fig. 1,thereby turning disc 42 clockwise, viewing Fig. 5. This would swing arm47 into engagement with lug 37, and would raise pawl 34 out ofengagement with the upper notch 32, thereby releasing the cylinder 2Ofrom a pawl locked condition. After this has happened, the gravity pawl3S would prevent turning of the cylinder 20, in a clockwise direction,viewing Fig. 5.

This resultant movement of disc 42, would carry back pawl 45 intoengagement with the neXt rearmost tooth 41. This may be termed thereleasing movement or unlocking movement.

After the cylinder has been unlocked, then, the shaft 49 is turned in acontra-clockwise direction, viewing Fig. 1, and this imparts a likedirection of movement to disc 42, through gear 48 and section 43, whichmovement is conand is mounted on' -tinuedluitilthe pawl 34, riding on.the blank portion of disc-31, cornes` into engagement Qwit'h vthelieritnotch .ing .movement of cylinder 20v is arrested and locked.

44. Disc 40, carries a pawl 45, adapted to en` v32,` whereupon the turn-5, is ,shown in Fig. 6, and the corresponding movement of pawl 45, isshown in Figs. .7 and-8. i

...Now the turning movement of cylinder 20,

3, position to theFig.-,4, position, in the present form of theinvention.

As the cylinder 20 is turned from the Fig. 4, to the Fig. 3, position,the fruit entity in umn into the delivery position shown in Fig. 4, andfalls out of the holder by gravity into the tray and rolls down wall 14,out through opening 13, and against flange 19, where it ,i

is accessible to the purchaser.

This quarter movement that discharges an apple or other fruit entity,will, as previously described, advance another opening 20, into registrywith its respective housing so that as one apple is discharged from thecylinder,

another will be received thereby. It will also be understood that inthis particular form of the invention, the cylinder is always turned inone direction, the pawl 38, preventing turning movement otherwise.

Further, the openings 20 are located in sequential relation so that theapples are discharged from the housings serially thereby avoiding theunattractive appearance which would result if all the contents of onehousing were discharged before the remaining housings were drawn upon. y

It is believed that the invention will be fully understood from theforegoing description, and while one specific form of the invention isshown herein, it is not desired that the invention be thus limitedexcept for such limitations as the claims may import.

I claim:

1. In a fruitl vending machine, a series of columnar housings forenclosing columns of fruit entities in superimposed relation, a hollowcylinder subjacent said housings for supporting the fruit entitiestherein, said cylinder having a series of receiving and dischargeopenings circumferentially disposed about said cylinder to sequentiallycome into registry with said housings, each opening having a fruitholder therein limiting ingress of the entity into said cylinder, andmeans for imparting rotative movement to said cylinder to discharge thereceived entity and dispose another opening in receiving relation withanother housing.

2. In a fruit vending machine, a housing for enclosing a column ofsuperimposed fruit entities, a rotative cylinder in sub] acentsupporting relation to the column of fruit and having an opening adaptedto register therel70 The .unlocking movement of the parts in justdescribed, is a quarter turn from the` Fig. l5

the holder is moved from under the fruit colim with, a fruit holder insaid opening adapted to support a received entity therein with a portionof the entity projecting beyond the periphery of the cylinder andsupporting the next loWermost entity of the column out of Contact withsaid cylinder until the latter has been turned suiiciently toward a,delivery posit-ion to free the entity held therein from the lowermostentity of said column of fruit.

In Witness whereof, I have hereunto afxed my signature.

NOAH H. MASSIE.

